I Am In It: isolation

By Greg Orrē

In the early months of 2020, Greg Orrē was deep in the creation of I Am In It-painting the oil pastel cover art for Volume One, recording music on his new 8-track, and finalizing his first poetry collection. Then, the world changed. On March 11, 2020, a global pandemic was declared. In response to the sudden stillness and isolation, and to honour National Poetry Month, Greg challenged himself to share one poem a day throughout April 2020. I Am In It: isolation gathers those 30 poems-presented in the original order they were posted online. The first half of the collection revisits earlier work, hesitantly dipping back into poetic waters. But halfway through, something shifts. A plastic bag dancing in the wind, the release of Fiona Apple's Fetch the Bolt Cutters, and the daily ritual of writing & reflecting cracked something open.

What followed was a flood of impulsive, alive, imperfect poems-shared the same day they were written. This practice helped Greg loosen the grip of perfectionism and embrace creative flow, directly influencing the raw, intuitive sound of his self-produced debut solo album later that summer. Part joyful read, part time capsule, I Am In It: isolation is a portrait of an artist navigating uncertainty with curiosity, courage, and creativity.

Photos: Kristen Boy , 2020

GREG ORRĒ (pronounced greg-ory) is a multidisciplinary artist exploring connections between nature, identity, and perception. He creates joy and lives with his family in Saskatoon near the South Saskatchewan River on Treaty 6 territory, the traditional lands of the Cree, Dene, Dakota, Lakota, Nakota, and Saulteaux peoples, and the homeland of the M tis. In addition to his solo work, Greg also performs and records with skins & bones garage-pop duo Too Soon Monsoon.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0F3XT8BXQ
• ISBN13: 9798316796069
• Release Date: April 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 42 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"